Change of route for Galathea 3Dato 21.2.2006
21 February 2006: the Board of the Danish Expedition Foundation has decided to change the route of Galathea 3. The decision has been made in light of developments in the Middle East and South East Asia.
The re-routing affects the stretch between the Azores in the Atlantic and Darwin on Australia’s north coast. Instead of the course via the Mediterranean to the Arabian Gulf, the Bay of Bengal and the Indonesian Archipelago, the expedition will sail west round Africa in order to reach Australia.
The new course will mean that certain of the research projects on other stages of the journey will be allocated more time. The diversion also implies that other projects may have to alter their focus of research; a few may unfortunately have to be scrapped.
“In the coming weeks we will work together with the affected research teams to adapt plans. We will endeavour to accommodate as many of the projects as possible into the new route,” said Søren Haslund-Christensen, Chairman of the Danish Expedition Foundation. “I am certain that sailing round Africa will be at least as exciting, both research and communication-wise.”
“Naturally we cannot say how the situation will develop between now and the departure of the expedition in August. We have to act now, as a modern research expedition on this scale demands forward planning. The supertanker’s itinerary can not be changed on the spur of the moment,” added Haslund-Christen.
More details of the change of route are to be found here.
Further information: Chairman of the Danish Expedition Foundation, Søren Haslund-Christensen, tel: + 45 51 51 88 88 or Secretariat of the Danish Expedition Foundation, tel: + 45 35 32 41 76.
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